Deepening into Meditation

ONLINE

By donation $0, $5, $10, $15 sliding scale, pay what you can | Please register in advance, a Zoom link and passcode will be provided via confirmation email.

“You begin with ambition of some kind. Then, at a certain stage, meditation becomes instinctive. Then you cannot not meditate – it happens to you.”-Chogyam Trumpa Rinpoche

This ongoing group meets on the 3rd Wednesday of each month to explore and refine aspects of our meditation practices – how we sit, why we sit, and how that relates to our lives. The format consists of a group meditation with some direction, a talk on a related subject and a question/answer session with sharing.

Prajna took her first yoga class in 1970 in southern California. Later that year she came through the doors of the Berkeley Integral Yoga Institute (IYI), and since that time she has loved Integral Yoga.
Over the years she has maintained an active involvement in movement, healing, and meditation. She has practiced yoga, tai chi, and various dance forms; co-authored two best selling books on Holistic Health; lived and danced flamenco in southern Spain; and since 2000, has taught Rosen Movement. In 2010, she completed her IYI Teacher Training at Yogaville, VA and began teaching yoga. She brings to her teaching four decades of meditation practice, the last twenty eight in the Buddhist tradition.
Attuning to the wisdom of the body/mind and opening to the present are the foundations of both Prajna’s teaching and personal practice.
Prajna has cooked professionally for many years at retreats centers, cafes and restaurants.

Sustaining a Spiritual Vision

by Swami Ramananda

One of the primary challenges of the spiritual path is sustaining the intention to awaken, even as we encounter considerable obstacles. Compelled by suffering and/or inspired by saintly beings, we may commit ourselves to experiencing the profound peace we understand to be our true nature. We may take up specific practices to free ourselves from the cultural conditioning that filters our perception, limits our vision, and imprisons us in the illusion of separation. 

For most of us, this effort requires patience, persistence, and some means to renew this commitment. The obstacles are many: the countless stressors of daily life, the subconscious beliefs and habitual thinking that compel us to defend the ego-identity we’ve formed, the physical or psychological pain that can sidetrack our energy, and the constant messages of our consumer culture offering us a quick fix of pleasure—a poor substitute for the natural contentment we aspire to experience.

So how do we sustain that vision we may have formed in moments of clear insight and inspiration? The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali refer to this challenge specifically in Book 1, sutra 30. This sutra names nine different obstacles that, if unchecked, can end up completely diverting us from the path we chose. Book 1, sutra 32 clarifies the importance of establishing and sticking with one specific method by which we begin to master the mind and thoughts.

No doubt, developing a meditation practice into a strong habit is one of the primary ways we can remain inspired. And if a regular practice penetrates deeply into our consciousness through consistency and enthusiasm, it will give rise to moments of healing silence and a taste of the unchanging peace within. It may be that nothing will renew our intention to awaken more than feeling for ourselves the profound benefits that it can yield. 

Another form of great support is a community of like-minded spiritual seekers. Our practice may seem to plateau for long periods of time with no real progress. Sharing such challenges with others can uplift our spirits, inspire us to have more compassion for ourselves and each other, and keep our efforts in perspective. 

I have also found a great benefit from creating a personal prayer or affirmation that I repeat at the end of each meditation session and before each meal. I created this prayer as a way of affirming to myself in my own words what I deeply believe to be true, based on my own experiences and the teachings of Sri Swami Satchidananda. It varies somewhat each time but goes essentially like this:

“Let me remember that all I really need to be happy is to feel this Presence I can sense now, so that I can be free from clinging or longing for anything outside, free to serve as an instrument of the Divine, free to be mindful, humble and grateful, and free to enjoy everything I do.”

While I may not feel it deeply every time I repeat it, this prayer reminds me of how I can live with peace in my heart, serve in ways that are fulfilling, and have faith that I am learning and growing despite the mental ups and downs I may experience.

It can be very helpful to remember that it is challenging to sustain an enthusiastic pursuit of such an exalted goal as mastering the mind as we navigate the sometimes stormy waters of life. So it behooves us to remember that not one moment of effort is lost—all the spiritual study we do, every meditation session, each repetition of a mantra or affirmation, every instance of devotion or genuine service is an essential step on the path.

Through repeated practice, we will begin to experience moments free of habitual thought patterns, and see ourselves and our relationship to the world in a fresh way.  We will begin to feel our connection to each other and all of nature. Over time, our accumulated practice will gradually restructure even the subconscious mind so that we are no longer compelled by old beliefs and fears, and approach life with a sense of deep belonging, inner contentment, and wonder.

 

Swami Ramananda is the Executive Director of the Integral Yoga Institute in San Francisco and a greatly respected senior teacher in the Integral Yoga tradition, who has been practicing Yoga for over 45 years. Ramananda offers practical methods of integrating the timeless teachings and practices of Yoga into daily life, and transforming the painful aspects of human experience into steps toward realizing one’s full potential.
He leads beginner, intermediate and advanced level Yoga teacher training programs in San Francisco, and offers a variety of programs in many locations in the U.S., Europe and South America. Ramananda co-developed the Stress Management Teacher Training program with Swami Vidyananda, has trained many teachers to bring Yoga into corporate, hospital and medical settings, and has taught mind/body wellness programs in many locations. He is a certified Yoga therapist and founding board member of the Yoga Alliance, a national registry that supports and promotes yoga teachers as professionals. He is a co-founder of The Spiritual Action Initiative (SAI) which brings together individuals committed to working for social justice for all beings and for the care and healing of our natural world. His warmth, wisdom and sense of humor have endeared him to many.

2021-07-01T11:18:50-07:00July 1st, 2021|Tags: , , |

Balancing Life

by Diana Meltsner

These last months, my life has fallen into a rhythm of wakefulness and rest, work and play, inner contemplation and outer explorations. Now my days are changing again. As most of us are vaccinated here in the San Francisco area, it is becoming safer to go out, meet friends and family, eat out and mingle. Yet again, we are asked to adapt and shift gears.

This impermanence of human existence is in plain sight. I see much change that happened to me and others; in health, relationships, work… Many of my relationships have changed, some grew stronger and some weakened or dissipated. I have had all those recollections of the past, memories pulled out from a deep slumber of unconsciousness awaiting resolution or just a bit of attention. As a result of this deep internal work, new realizations and old patterns came to light.

Once again I strive for balance between doing and being, solitude and “with others”. I see many of the unhealthy patterns of social engagement I have had, many things I considered normal and willingly settled to live with. Now is a chance for renewal.
In these months I have continued to cultivate awareness as we meditators do. I am grateful for my practice and now I seem to have an increased need for solitude or perhaps it’s always been there.

I aim to live an authentic life that is worth living. Life where my heart stays soft, feeling the pain of old things, yet free and spacious, filled with Light, Love and Beauty.

Om Shanti. Peace to All. Peace in the Heart, Peace in the Mind.

Please enjoy this poem I wrote during the last year and that was published by local literary magazine “The Bohemian”.

The Folding and Unfolding of Grace

by Diana Meltsner

In your urging I move.
In your arms I die.
I blossom and I die
all at the same time.

You take my lips
to give this flute a voice
only to dissolve it into silence.

The merging and dividing,
ecstasy and pain,
beauty and terror waking me up.

The folding and unfolding of
Grace. Now and then.

​December 2020
~ The Bohemian, Notre Dame De Namur University’s literary and art journal,  spring 2021

Diana Meltsner, C-IAYT and e-RYT500, has been teaching yoga in the Bay Area since 2001. The classes she teaches include prenatal, gentle, various levels of Hatha yoga, and yoga workshops. Diana is a lead teacher trainer for 200-hour Basic Yoga Teacher Trainings at Integral Yoga Institute San Francisco. She is certified yoga therapist and offers individual therapeutic sessions with focus ranging from stress reduction to injury recovery. Her classes include physical postures, breathing, guided relaxation, meditation and other yoga teachings which help people to find deeper sense of well-being and ability to move through life with increased ease, intuition, and stress resilience. www.dianameltsner.com

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2021-06-21T11:08:29-07:00June 18th, 2021|Tags: |

Deepening into Meditation

Meets monthly on the third Wednesday

By donation $0, $5, $10, $15 Sliding scale, pay what you can.

Please register in advance, a Zoom link and passcode will be provided via confirmation email.

“You begin with ambition of some kind. Then, at a certain stage, meditation becomes instinctive. Then you cannot not meditate – it happens to you.”-Chogyam Trumpa Rinpoche
This ongoing group meets on the 3rd Wednesday of each month to explore and refine aspects of our meditation practices – how we sit, why we sit, and how that relates to our lives. The format consists of a group meditation with some direction, a talk on a related subject and a question/answer session with sharing.

Prajna took her first yoga class in 1970 in southern California. Later that year she came through the doors of the Berkeley Integral Yoga Institute (IYI), and since that time she has loved Integral Yoga.
Over the years she has maintained an active involvement in movement, healing, and meditation. She has practiced yoga, tai chi, and various dance forms; co-authored two best selling books on Holistic Health; lived and danced flamenco in southern Spain; and since 2000, has taught Rosen Movement. In 2010, she completed her IYI Teacher Training at Yogaville, VA and began teaching yoga. She brings to her teaching four decades of meditation practice, the last twenty eight in the Buddhist tradition.

Attuning to the wisdom of the body/mind and opening to the present are the foundations of both Prajna’s teaching and personal practice.

She cooked professionally for many years at retreats centers, cafes and restaurants.

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